Traditionally, a ski lift facility allows passengers, skiers or pedestrians, to go up or down slopes. A ski lift generally includes two end stations, one station located at the bottom of the slope and another station located at the top of the slope. These end stations are connected by an overhead carrier and pulling cable that may form a closed loop. It is known to drive the cable using pulleys and to support it using pylons. Vehicles suspended from the cable make it possible to convey passengers from one end station to another.
Several types of ski lifts exist: chairlift, ski tow, gondola lift, or aerial ropeway. A chairlift-type ski lift allows passengers to go up or down the slope, in a seated position, using seats suspended from a continuously moving cable. A ski lift of the ski tow type makes it possible to pull skiers on their own skis to go up the slope. A facility of the gondola lift type consists of conveying passengers using gondolas suspended from a continuously moving cable. Lastly, a lift of the aerial ropeway type makes it possible to convey passengers to the top or bottom of the slope with a back-and-forth movement. In other words, the movement is reversed at the end stations.
When the cable forms a closed loop, each end station may include a boarding area and a disembarking area for passengers. The ski lift thus offers the possibility of simultaneously conveying passengers going up and down the slope.
When the ski lift is of the chairlift type, the vehicles (seats) may or may not be disengageable. When they are disengageable, the seats can be separated from the cable from which they are suspended to follow a secondary path when they reach a boarding or disembarking area. On the secondary path, the speed of the seat is reduced to facilitate boarding or disembarking passengers, thereby procuring increased comfort and safety. When the seats are not disengageable, they remain permanently on the cable from which they are suspended. In that case, the lack of a disengaging system offers a ski lift with a simpler structure.
The transport of passengers at the top or bottom of the slope requires compliance with a high level of safety. In particular, the seats travel at a relatively significant distance from the ground. It is thus known from patent document WO2007/135256 to improve passenger safety by using a magnetic member engaging with an element made from a ferromagnetic material worn by a passenger.
It is also known to improve passenger safety by using a restraining bar limiting risks of accidental fall of a passenger from the seat.
The restraining bars are traditionally pivotably mounted with respect to the seat to allow passengers to board and disembark. A distinction is made between a lowered usage position and a lifted usage position of the restraining bar. When the restraining bar is in the lowered position, it forms an obstacle preventing a passenger from falling into the open space. This lowered position of the restraining bar is normally adopted during a travel phase of the seat outside the loading and disembarking areas. When the restraining bar is in a lifted position, it frees the space in front of the seat so as to allow the passengers to position themselves on the seat or leave it. The restraining bar is therefore normally in the lifted position when the seat is in a boarding or disembarking area.
For safety reasons, the restraining bar must not be lifted throughout the entire travel phase outside the boarding and disembarking areas. However, the existing seats generally only offer limited security, insofar as nothing prevents passengers from lifting the restraining bar during the travel of the seat outside the boarding and disembarking areas.
To resolve this issue, it is known to use mechanical blocking devices of the restraining bar, like that disclosed in patent document EP 2,030,858. However, these mechanical devices impose a structure that is oftentimes complex. As a result, these devices only offer the possibility of being able to be mounted on vehicles during construction. They cannot be adapted to existing ski lifts and furthermore require relatively significant maintenance. Lastly, although they improve passenger safety, the known devices make the vehicles heavier, which causes early wear of the ski lift vehicles.